Bassick beats Westhill in Kuczo tournament

Emery Filmer

Updated 9:54 pm, Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Westhill's Yveson Cassamajor shoots as Bassick's David Steele blocks as Bassick and Westhill High Schools face off in the Paul Kuczo Holiday BasketballTournament at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 26, 2012.
Photo: Keelin Daly

Westhill's Yveson Cassamajor shoots as Bassick's David Steele...

Bassick's Carl Brown looks to put the ball up as Westhill's Yveson Cassamjor blocks as Bassick and Westhill High Schools face off in the Paul Kuczo Holiday BasketballTournament at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 26, 2012.
Photo: Keelin Daly

Bassick's Carl Brown looks to put the ball up as Westhill's Yveson...

Bassick's AJ Brown shoots as Bassick and Westhill High Schools face off in the Paul Kuczo Holiday BasketballTournament at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 26, 2012.
Photo: Keelin Daly

NORWALK -- The strategy seemed to work perfectly . . . until you realize it resulted in an 18-point loss.

The plan the Westhill boys basketball coaching staff utilized Wednesday against Bassick in the first round of the Paul Kuczo Holiday Tournament at Brien McMahon was sound: Get the Bassick "bigs" in foul trouble to eliminate their Lions' obvious height advantage.

"That was our game plan and that's exactly what we did," Westhill's interim head coach Roberto Nieves said after Bassick's 78-60 victory. "But I guess they have five other guys who can run up and down the court."

Bassick (5-0) appeared to be in trouble when 6-foot-8 star center Dale Kirkland picked up his second and third personal fouls in the opening minute of the second quarter. Kirkland was hit with a technical foul for spiking the ball after being whistled for a foul. Bassick was up at that point 13-10.

A few minutes later talented forward Anthony Brown was called for his third foul. But by halftime the Lions led by 13, then had an 18-point lead in the third quarter. Thanks goodness for Westhill that Kobe Ancrum, the Lions' other forward, didn't get into foul trouble, too.

"We have a strong inside game but when (Kirkland and Brown) got three fouls, we went to five guards; we can play with five guards," Bassick coach Bernie Lofton said.

Kirkland ended up with just four points and five rebounds while Brown had four and eight. Yes, the Lions can play with five guards.

"Bassick is always one of the best teams in the league and they were just too much for us to handle," said Nieves, filling in for head coach Howard White, who is out with a medical issue and whose status going forth is uncertain.

Jeremiah Livingston led Westhill (3-1) with 17 points Yveson Cassamajor added 13 for the Vikings, who had their fine 3-0 start tempered by the fact that they beat three teams with a combined 0-9 record.

"We struggle the whole game," Nieves said. "We didn't come out with any intensity. That didn't happen at all in the first three games."

There are questions about Bassick as well, considering the combined record of the Lions' first four opponents was 2-14. But there are fewer questions after Wednesday. The two-time defending Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion Lions shot the ball well (30 for 62 compared to Westhill's 22 for 54), still outrebounded the Vikings 32-30, and forced 26 turnovers while committing 18.

The Lions led 39-26 at halftime with their two big men in foul trouble, and then stretched it to 57-39 (58-43 after three quarters). With Kirkland and Brown back, the lead ballooned to 23 (78-55) before the Vikings made it respectable during garbage time.